32 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 18 JULY 2015 SPORT Page 29 Another sentimental weekend of AFL Page 30 The Road to Sparta 9 771321 167062 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM ISSN 1321-1676 Real Madrid players warm up during a training session at the MCG yesterday. PHOTO: AAP IMAGE/TRACEY NEARMY World’s best in our backyard The likes of Real Madrid, AS Roma, Manchester City and Liverpool will feature on Australian soil this weekend Australians are bracing for the biggest names in football royalty to grace local shores with some mouth-watering encounters scheduled around the country. The post-European football fixture has been kind to local fans with English giants Chelsea and Tottenham already featuring in Sydney in May, and now Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Adelaide eagerly await their turns. With a teaser of what's to come, A-League club Brisbane Roar took on Liverpool FC in Brisbane last night, before the International Champions Cup kicks off tonight with 10-time European Champion Real Madrid taking on Italian giant AS Roma at the MCG. The third opponent in that competition - Manchester City - plays a friendly match against sister club Melbourne City on the Gold Coast. Melbourne City coach John van't Schip told Manchester City's website that he was excited by the prospect of playing the English giant in Queensland. "It's a historic moment for both clubs," van't Schip said. "For us especially playing in Australia against our sister club, it'll be a great moment for our players to step on the pitch and play against them." Where the weather gods haven't been kind, the football ones have been there to fill the gaps this winter. Arguably, Australia has never been under this kind of football spotlight before. It's a sign of the ever-growing interest in the game locally, and a recognition by international clubs that local fans means business and are proving to be an untapped resource. Players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Konstantinos Manolas, Francesco Totti, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Jordan Henderson will feature at Australia's stadiums this weekend. Greece international Manolas, who signed for AS Roma before the start of last season, finished with 30 appearances for the club. But it's been Real Madrid which has been making most of the headlines. Its superstars arrived early in the week and were spotted at a training session in Bundoora (perhaps a humbling experience compared to what they're used to in Madrid), whilst superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo was seen shopping throughout Melbourne's shopping precincts. And the news gets better with the carnival continuing into next week with Liverpool FC travelling to Adelaide to take on A-League club Adelaide United on Monday night and two more International Champions Cup matches featuring at the MCG - namely AS Roma v Manchester City on Tuesday night, and probably the priciest name-tags to ever feature on local soil: Manchester City v Real Madrid Liverpool FC players at a training session at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during the week. PHOTO: AAP IMAGE/DAVE HUNT next Friday. During the week Manchester City sealed an English record breaking signing by claiming Raheem Sterling from fellow giant Liverpool FC. He was sold for £49 million - a record for an English player (the previous being £35 million for Andy Carroll's signature to Liverpool in 2011).